Please note that the performance contains scenes of violence that are justified by the artistic concept and may cause psychological discomfort. Please make your decision to attend the event based on this information.

For the first time on the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theatre will be presented the premiere of the play "Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy" by the Polish classic of the 20th century Witold Gombrowicz (1904 - 1969). The play is directed by Hugo Erikssen, for whom this is his third work on the Alexandrinsky stage, with his play "Demagogue" in the theatre's repertoire.

Gombrowicz, one of the important figures of the European literary avant-garde, became known in Russia in the 1990s, when first his novels and then his dramatic works were published. "Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy", written in 1938, is the first of the writer's plays and the most important dramatic text of the twentieth century. Gombrowicz's dramaturgy, born out of the spirit of absurdity, the grotesque, irony and parody, in many ways anticipated the aesthetics of plays by Beckett, Ionesco and Mrozek.

The plot of "Yvonne" is based on the fact that in the life of the royal family, the existence of which is regulated, subject to once and for all established order, enters Yvonne, a simple girl "from the people". Rebelling against parental dictates, the infantile Prince Philip announces his engagement to Yvonne against her will. Very soon the King, Queen, courtiers and soon the Prince himself turn against his future daughter-in-law. Thoughts of getting rid of Yvonne become more and more obsessive....

In the play, Yvonne is predominantly silent, with only nine lines. But the silence of the heroine, into which the other characters stare like mirrors, provokes the most paradoxical reactions. Everyone is left alone with their fears, paranoia grows in the house. Shameful secrets are revealed, the sins of the past are remembered....

At various times the play was interpreted by the theatre as a grotesque, as an absurdist drama, or as a sharp social pamphlet about how far people are willing to go in defending the usual social norms. Gombrowicz himself pointed out in his "Author's Notes on the Play and Direction": "The characters in the play are perfectly normal people who have only found themselves in an abnormal situation.

In his production, Hugo Erikssen brings theatre closer to cinema: Gombrowicz's play, which is a parody of Shakespearean dramas, turns into a parody of a horror film. But this is not a crude mockery of genre stamps, but rather a stylisation of classical tropes. After all, in the minds of the play's characters, Yvonne is a kind of "evil spirit" who infiltrates the family home and endangers the lives of its inhabitants, which is one of the canonical plots of horror films.

Also working on the performance are: Set-designer  Jutta Rote (scenography, costumes), assistant set-designer Fedor Fedorovsky, composer Andrei Besogonov, lighting designer Anton Pomorev, director of photography Alexandra Spirina.

In the performance are engaged: Anna Blinova (Yvonne), Victor Shuralyov (Prince Philip), People's Artist of Russia Peter Semak (King Ignatius), Alexandra Bolshakova (Queen Margarita), Andrey Matyukov (Chamberlain), Maria Lopatina (Iza), Vitaly Sazonov (Kirill), Ivan Zhukov (Cyprian), Lyubov Yakovleva (1st lady), Daria Vaneyeva (2nd lady), Honoured Artist of Russia Elena Nemzer (Yvonne's Aunt), Mikhail Slivnikov (Innokenty), Valentin Zakharov (Innokenty), Maxim Yakovlev (Valentin).

Premiere - 10 April 2026